2024 MTB Trends That We Hated

2024 has been notable for many reasons. Mad good World Cup action, the Olympics, of course. However, what about some of the things we didn't like about the year? Red Bull rampage outraged the challenges in the cycling industry economy. Let's dive into those worrying trends of 2024 that we hated. Bike brands going out of business. This is never going to be a trend any of us like. Bike brands going out of business or struggling so much that we worry they might very soon go out of business. Yes, the year started off with Wiggle CRC going into administration with the bike brands like Nukeproof and Vitus coming to the end as we know them. Kona, actually, they also had a major wobble appearing to go out of business just before Sea Otter earlier in the year before being bought back by their original owners. Orange bikes had a similar experience before coming back from the brink. Looking to Europe, it was reported that Simplon became insolvent. Poly bicycles tipped over the edge this year and entered into bankruptcy. Even high-end clothing brand Rapha appears to be struggling, reporting a loss of a whopping £22 million this year. Hopefully, it isn't a trend that continues into 2025, but 2024 will be remembered as a very worrying precipice for the entire industry. Race teams closing down, very much connected to the above situation. We've seen an alarming rate of race teams crumble in 2024. This has left many riders wondering about their rides for 2025, but we already know that the Madison Saracens team is completely gone, disappeared. Dorval AM Commencal also announced its closure. With just those two teams lost, we have some serious names sloshing about in the to-be-signed part for 2025. Let's face it, riders like Matt Walker, Benoit Coulonge, Camille Balanche will be signed by someone, but who gets pushed out? It feels like a game of musical chairs is happening, but there are a lot of chairs getting taken away. Yes, not yours, don't worry. With the new updates to team rules in the UCI World Cups in 2025, it seems like more teams might be winding up too. A very sad trend we can't wait to see the back of. Gravel bikes have started to take over. That's what it feels like. They aren't a 2024 phenomenon, but this does feel like the year where the category itself really solidified into a potential competitor for both road and mountain biking. It's an interesting situation because both mountain bikers and road riders go gravel biking. The discipline could settle in as something how cyclocross has, I suppose, but although I don't think that is the case. This new discipline is the fastest-growing form of cycling on the planet. It could become a big problem for road or mountain biking. The question is, will it become road riders mountain biking or will it be mountain bikers road riding? I'm not sure, it could be both. Or neither, hopefully. All right, more and more spending and development goes into e-bikes every year. Eurobike24 was a shocking example of just how much momentum e-bikes have over your normal mountain bikes. It isn't true that mountain bikes aren't developing, but it's certainly a lot slower than it used to be. There's just no way the brands can do both, bud. There are plenty of positives to e-bikes. We ride them and enjoy them a lot. We do, love them. With how expensive developing new bikes is, it does mean some brands are having to compromise on where they spend their money. We've even seen brands take their iconic mountain bike names and put them on their latest e-bike offerings. Santa Cruz Heckler. Exactly, which gives some suggestion to which way the things are going. It does. It sounds like 25 might have some big releases for regular mountain bikes, luckily. Hopefully, that gives non-electrified riders something to look forward to, I reckon. Bolting every accessory under the sun to your bike seemed like a trend that died a few years ago, but it's come back for 2024. So enduro. Steering dampers and tuned mass dampers are two examples of the ever-increasing bolt-ons that riders are hoping can improve the performance of their bikes. It is true that this trend is mainly, we'll say, race-focused, Mark, but the trends that get set in racing often filter their way down to the everyday riders as well. Only the other day, I was in town and two mountain bikers cruised past, fully kitted up for enduro. Both bikes had one of the biggest offenders of bolt-on accessories, bolt-on handguards. Some riders swear by them, others swear about them, but 2024 has certainly been a big year for the handguard. Look, Samuel, he was just ahead of his time. What can we say? He really was. Not a trend we thought we'd see this year. Wireless-only bikes, the Specialized Stumpjumper S-Works and Santa Cruz Bronson CC bikes were both released this year, and one of the features they both had in common was only having wireless drivetrains. Yes, amazing bikes, but wireless-only, come on. Look, no cable routing to the rear mech means our trusty mechanical derailleurs, well, you can stick them in the bin. With these latest bikes, they're not needed, limiting riders to the much more expensive wireless groupsets on the market. While riders who are opting for these top-of-the-line frames and bikes are probably going to be fitting some pricey kits to their bikes anyway, we're hoping that this trend doesn't carry on further down the product range bike brands are offering. Suspension designs are getting seriously sophisticated, which often means more complicated. The number of bearings keeping some rear ends floating like they is growing, Mark. While this can mean an increase in performance, they certainly mean an increase in maintenance. Bearings don't come cheap, and if you're not confident enough working on your own bike, then labor charged to get them all changed out, that can be eye-watering. Yes, it does add up, doesn't it? It certainly does. I don't really know where the cost comes from, but they just add up. Yes, it's easy to see why some riders prefer simplicity of the good old-fashioned hardtail, or maybe even go to the whole way and go fully rigid. Wait, am I suggesting going gravel riding? Hang on. This is a trend that carried over from 2023 and possibly even before, but it is one we hope will be the final year of. Brendan Fairclough built an incredible line for Red Bull Rampage 2024, stomped his run in the finals, yet walked away with a 76 score and 11th-place finish. You could see he was visibly gutted when the score was revealed in the finish corral. He looked dejected, and the booing at the finish area was some of the loudest noise the crowd made all day. Will Brendog return for Rampage in 2025? Will he get the score his run deserves? We'll have to wait and see. Definitely a trend we didn't enjoy. There you have it, though. There's our trends that didn't float our boat. No, mine sank. Go on. What about you, though? Did we hit the mark? Let us know in the comments down below what you're thinking about the trends of 2024. Yes, did we miss any? We always like to hear what you have to say, but from us, for now, from the set, we'll see you later.